Taking care of oneself is highly important. Eating right, exercising and getting a lot of fresh air really helps to build up that immune system! These three things will keep the weight in check and just all around make one feel better. It is also important to keep a constant check on your vital signs. Occasionally having the blood pressure, temperature and heart rate checked can warn of any illness sneaking up from behind to grab ahold to an unsuspecting person. We all know this but not all of us do so well at keeping ourselves healthy. Personally, I am determined to do all I can to improve my well-being. I figure to be happy, I must first be healthy.
Obviously, this health awareness does not apply to animals. The critter world is often criticized as being in the dark about their physical health. They just don't seem to get it! Most animals live day by day and never have any intentions of doing any health checks. Not so at the Little Bayou House at the moment. Only health conscientious critters live here! Take little Miss Salem, the foster kitten, for instance. The little squirt bounds about the house getting plenty of exercise! Last night she was doing one of her "bounce and pounce" games. She would race through the living room, bound up the sofa, run across my keyboard and then attack Ms. Ez, the Bayou Dog. On one of these dashes, she plopped down on the ottoman by my feet. She immediately picked up the thermometer and started taking her temperature. This was one of those automated thermometers that voices the temperature at the end of a minute. I was tickled by the kitten holding the thermometer in her mouth. She did so calmly enough that the thermometer read out 98.7 degrees Fahrenheit. I researched what a kitten's temperature is supposed to be and found that anywhere from 96 degrees to 100 degrees is normal. Yep, this squirt of a kitten is right normal! With that, she leapt of the ottoman and raced across the back of the sofa to attack the dog once again!
Normally, I would never let the cat chew on the thermometer but, to be honest, she was not chewing, just holding. Plus, this is one that I was getting ready to toss anyway. She was just so cute and proved that critters do health checks! This is one smart cookie! Little Miss Salem, you keep doing your exercises, do not overeat and keep check on those vital signs! We definitely want you to be hale and hearty!
Ms. Ez is getting on up there in years. She has been a good dog (on most days!) but is getting a tad fat and lazy as of late. She misses the playtime she shared with her few other doggy friends, PJ and Sunny. When they are visiting the Bayou, she is like a young pup once again. The only other two critter "friends" (and I use the word loosely here) she has are Ms. Put and Ms. Nycto, the cats. Their contact is usually very brief and very tense. Neither cat wants a lot to do with a big, boisterous dog. So, Ms. Ez spends most of her days sleeping or chasing squirrels.
Enter one wee critter named Salem. Salem is a tiny kitten that my daughter and son-in-law are fostering. She is here visiting the Little Bayou House and missed her critter friends back home. I decided to attempt an introduction between Ms. Ez, the old Bayou dog and Salem, the tiny kitten. I have to admit that I was not one hundred percent certain just how well this meeting was going to be but something needed to be done to ease the kitten's loneliness. I eased Salem down to Ms. Ez's level. After telling her to be easy, I asked her to come meet the baby. Ezzy was amazing! She was almost giddy with the idea of "her" baby! She very calmly nosed the little one and then nuzzled up close to her. Salem sat almost motionless at first but then accepted Ms. Ez's attention. This was so heartwarming! The little kitten knew no fear of the big, lumbering dog and Ez tried to be as gentle as she could. The two were soon fast friends!
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After watching the two play together, nuzzle each other and then snooze side by side, I figured that this was a match made in Heaven! Ms. Ez has always had this motherly nurturing side to her whether it be this kitten, baby birds or a baby possum. She loves babies! Since she has never had any of her own, perhaps that mother instinct has kicked in with the sight of this lonely, little kitten. Whatever it is, she and Salem seem to truly love each other! What a win/win situation! The kitten found a friend and Ms. Ez has HER BABY!
